I went to high school in a very small town, Bismarck IL. When we lined up for our graduation photo in 1958, there were only 39 of us. That's why I was hugely surprised when I went back for my 50th reunion last weekend. The town has grown, inevitably, and the high school now has about 350 students (still small, I guess, by American standards). And everybody--I mean everybody--turned out for the Homecoming parade. Here's a small sample of the people who came, lined up in front of what used to be Chrisman's Grocery on the corner, and the old Brown Brothers hardware store on the right. The crowd--sitting in folding chairs, with kids playing everywhere--lined both sides of the road for the mile-long trek from the Lions' Club Park (across the tracks from the grain elevator) to the high school.
I took this photo from an antique car (our class served as parade marshals). There were a dozen old cars, the town fire engine, the high school pep band (a shadow of our 75-piece band back in 1958), cheerleaders--everthing you'd expect in a small-town Homecoming parade. Bismarck won the football game that night, and the class get-togethers were wonderful. The instant connections I felt to people I hadn't seen in fifty years were remarkable. You know the word "closure"? Somehow, this reunion smoothed out all of the lingering conflicts and unhappinesses I felt during those chaotic teen years, and I saw us not as the kids I remembered but as who we have become: productive, thoughtful, mature adults who happened to share an important four years in our lives. I'm so glad I went. The class has created a website with our bios and photos, and most of us have email. So we can keep in touch, as one of our optimists says, during the next fifty years.
Back home, I have a new energy-saving project. 
Bill strung a clothesline for me between a couple of cedar trees, I bought some new clothespins, and I'm in business. I hadn't hung up sheets for--what? 30 years? But I think hanging clothes is a skill (like bike riding) that you never forget. I have the luxury of choosing which days I want to wash, so I can choose the sunny one. Gotta say: those sheets certainly smelled good, just like Texas sunshine and fresh wind. I appreciate the dryer and the work it saves. But I'm also becoming much more aware (aren't we all?) of the real cost of our energy-saving appliances. Hanging clothes is something I can do to reduce my energy use. And it's not against the law here, either. I don't have to fight for my right to dry, as some people have.
Book report. Back at work, too, on the next China Bayles mystery, Holly Blues. I usually start writing China in mid-September, but the past few weeks have been full of other things (teaching an online class for Story Circle, working with Peggy on a couple of projects). So I'm about 20 days behind my usual writing calendar. But there's plenty of time, so I'm not anxious. (Not yet, anyway.) It's fun to be back in Pecan Springs with China and Ruby.
In case you haven't noticed, The Tale of Briar Bank came out last week. I love this book, especially love the dragon (he's on the cover, too). The dragon will be a character in another book, so I hope you'll like him in this one. Good reviews and lots of positive reader response, so I'm happy.
Reading note. It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.--J.R.R. Tolkein, The Hobbit.